Auditor says city’s financial health is very good
RUSSELLVILLE — The city has received what its auditor called a “clean opinion” on its fiscal year 2024 audit, meaning no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses were found.
Certified Public Accountant Don Wallace of Northport-based Wallace & Associates delivered the results at last week’s city council meeting. He described the city’s financial health as “very good,” crediting steady management and local economic growth.
“We didn’t have anything considered to be a deficiency or weakness, and that’s how we want it,” Wallace told the council. “We call that a clean opinion in accounting. That’s what we like to see.”
The audit shows the city brought in approximately $16.88 million in revenue while spending $15.53 million, resulting in a $1.3 million increase in net assets. Year-end net assets totaled $19.73 million.
The city’s general fund finished with a surplus of about $540,000 with revenues of $14.2 million against $12.7 million in disbursements. Wallace also noted the city retired roughly $850,000 in bond debt during the year.
He praised the city’s healthy reserves, contrasting them with other Alabama municipalities.
“Y’all are in a very good position,” Wallace said. “A lot of cities your size don’t have the reserves you have. Others are sitting there with $80,000 in the bank worried about making payroll.”
Wallace explained that while the city’s total assets include about $15 million across all its funds, a substantial share of those funds is legally restricted.
“You’ve got about half a million dollars in gas tax accounts that can only be used for paving,” he said. “Those amounts you have to save up for quite a while to do much with.”
Other restricted funds include airport improvement grants, sidewalk projects, and capital purchases such as fire trucks.
The city’s long-term pension liability stands at around $7 million, which Wallace described as typical for Alabama cities.
“Ninety-five percent of cities are upside down on that,” he said. “It has to go on the balance sheet, but you can’t do much about it except pay your share and hope they don’t raise your contribution rate too much.”
While the audit identified no major problems, Wallace pointed out minor issues with the city’s accounting software, particularly in the school bond fund and airport improvement fund accounts where trial balances were out of sync.
“It’s not adding up perfectly, but it’s easy enough to reconcile,” he said.
He recommended two main priorities for city staff:
• Completing software updates to fix those trial balance issues;
•Maintaining a clear debt schedule listing current balances and lenders.
“Nothing super difficult,” he told the council. “Just things to look to have done by the time we do the 2025 audit.”
Wallace credited local economic strength for helping keep the city in good shape. Sales and use tax collections, including online sellers’ tax, totaled about $7.3 million last year with online sales growing by roughly 13% to 14%.
“Everybody needs to buy everything they can here in town,” he said. “But even when they shop online, those sales help your city coffers.”
Wallace said he hopes to complete next year’s audit by April or May.
He also said he sees no warning signs for Russellville’s long-term stability.
“If I were a resident here, I’d want to know my city’s financial health is good, that they’re in a good position to provide everyday services and address needs in an emergency without waiting on the state or Washington.”
